Prism-coupling systems and methods for characterizing curved parts
First Claim
1. A method for determining at least one characteristic of a curved part having a curved outer surface and a near-surface waveguide region defined by an ion-exchanged region, comprising:
- interfacing a coupling surface of a coupling prism to the curved outer surface to define a coupling interface proximate the near-surface waveguide region;
directing measurement light through the coupling prism and to the coupling interface and coupling a portion of the measurement light into TE and TM modes supported by the near-surface waveguide region, wherein the measurement light has a width of 3 mm or less;
digitally capturing TE and TM mode spectra reflected from the coupling interface and defined by the TE and TM modes supported by the near-surface waveguide region; and
processing the TE and TM mode spectra to determine the at least one characteristic of the curved part.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Prism coupling systems and methods for characterizing curved parts are disclosed. A coupling surface of a coupling prism is interfaced to the curved outer surface of the curved part to define a coupling interface. Measurement light is directed through the coupling prism and to the interface, wherein the measurement light has a width of 3 mm or less. TE and TM mode spectra reflected from the interface are digitally captured. These mode spectra are processed to determine at least one characteristic of the curved part, such as the stress profile, compressive stress, depth of layer, refractive index profile and birefringence.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for determining at least one characteristic of a curved part having a curved outer surface and a near-surface waveguide region defined by an ion-exchanged region, comprising:
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interfacing a coupling surface of a coupling prism to the curved outer surface to define a coupling interface proximate the near-surface waveguide region; directing measurement light through the coupling prism and to the coupling interface and coupling a portion of the measurement light into TE and TM modes supported by the near-surface waveguide region, wherein the measurement light has a width of 3 mm or less; digitally capturing TE and TM mode spectra reflected from the coupling interface and defined by the TE and TM modes supported by the near-surface waveguide region; and processing the TE and TM mode spectra to determine the at least one characteristic of the curved part. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12)
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11. A method for determining at least one characteristic of a curved part having a curved outer surface and a near-surface waveguide region defined by an ion-exchanged region, comprising:
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directing focused measurement light to a coupling-prism assembly having a coupling prism interfaced with the outer surface of the curved part to define a coupling interface, wherein the curved outer surface is defined by a radius R1≥
0.5 mm and a radius R2≥
20 m;reflecting a portion of the measurement light from the coupling interface and coupling portion of the light into TE and TM modes supported by the near-surface waveguide region, while restricting the measurement light to have a width of 3 mm or less prior to said reflecting; detecting the reflected measurement light to obtain TE and TM mode spectra; and processing the TE and TM mode spectra to determine the at least one characteristic of the curved part.
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13. A prism-coupling system for determining at least one characteristic of a curved part having a curved outer surface and a near-surface waveguide region defined by an ion-exchanged region and that supports TE and TM modes that respectively define TE and TM mode spectra, comprising:
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a light-source system that generates measurement light; a coupling-prism assembly having a coupling prism with input and output surfaces and a coupling surface that interfaces with the curved outer surface to define a coupling interface proximate the near-surface waveguide region to couple a portion of the measurement light into the TE and TM modes and to reflect a portion of the measurement light from the coupling interface, wherein the coupling-prism assembly comprises means for defining a width of the measurement light to be 3 mm or less; a detector system arranged to receive the portion of the measurement light reflected from the coupling interface and that exits the output surface to digitally capture TE and TM mode spectra; and a controller that processes the TE and TM mode spectra to determine the at least one characteristic of the curved part. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification